What are the macro-scale reasons that stand behind unfavorable treatment toward refugees in most of the EU and along the “Balkan Route”? What were the deciding factors
that put the large number of Syrian immigrants in a position to feel unwanted
and rejected by the parts of Europe they wanted to find their second home at, and what ultimately led to the closing of the "Balkan Route" a couple of days ago?

Many won’t say it,
or attribute any importance to it, again, probably because of some fake sense
of political correctness, but the first thing that an average person started
asking when refugees started pouring in was: Why are they coming to Europe and
not the countries surrounding Syria? And this would be a good question, if
there was any logical reasoning that
could be attributed to it whatsoever. But the
real truth is - they actually did go to the surrounding countries.

According to the Mercy Corps website, there are more than 4.7
million refugees at this moment, and more than 6 million internally displaced
Syrians. As the official statistics of the UNHCR
say, the vast majority of the 4.7 million are located in Turkey
(2.715.789 registered as of March 3rd), Lebanon (1.067.560 registered as of
January 2016.) and Jordan (639.204 registered). Also, Iraq
and Egypt are home for around 350.000 refugees aggregate.The
frightening thing is that more than 54% of these refugees are children and
minors under 17 years of age, and 80% of that group is under 11 years old.

In contrast to
that, there are 897.645 asylum applications in the entire Europe up until mid March. That is less than 20% of the number in the countries surrounding Syria, so that completely defeats the theory of refugees flooding
Europe.

The important question, one that almost nobody asks or talks about
publicly is: Why is it even important if these people go to Jordan, Egypt,
Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey or they go to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Germany,
Poland, Austria, France etc. So, why is it important where do they go, when
they are just people in need, running from war? The issue in place is simple:
race and religion. The climate of peace and understanding between the Christian
and the Islamic communities of Europe (which are both, unfortunately, vastly
larger than the Atheist community) is something that only exists in theory and
on a small-scale. Islamophobia is very wide-spread due to generalization, and
generalization is a stupid, stupid thing, but that’s not the subject now. And
don't get me wrong - I do not disrespect neither Christians nor Muslims when I
say that "there are unfortunately way less Atheists", but I don't
remember the last time Atheists went killing each other and starting wars over
whose Atheism is better.

It is a known fact that is also rarely spoken of, that Europe has a
very strong right-wing nationalistic movements in almost every country. These
movements are gaining momentum and support during the last 15 years, and the
world-wide spreading of Islamophobia after the 9/11 attacks. To quote Open
Society Foundation’s website report on Islamophobia: "In recent years,
Islamophobia has been fueled by public anxiety over immigration and the
integration of Muslim minorities into majority cultures in Europe. These
tensions have been exacerbated by the aftermath of the economic crash of 2007
and the rise of populist nationalist politicians. They have also been
aggravated by high-profile terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim
extremists." Further more, attacks by violent jihadists in London and
Madrid, the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, and the massacre at the
Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have increased fear and anxiety. The problem
with these is, as I said previously, generalization - a presumption that every and any Muslim is a
terrorist just because some Muslims are terrorists. That would be the same as, for example, presuming that every German is a Nazi, just because some Germans were Nazis.

Since we all know that fear and inability to understand things are
the strongest fuel for hatred and conflict (did anyone say Spanish
Inquisition?) it is easy to see how in a society we like to think of as
civilized, this kind of discrimination was able to flourish, almost under the
radar. After the most recent terrorist attacks that took place in Paris, the
climate toward Syrian migrants changed even more drastically, and spawned almost
an open rebellion across the entire Europe. Among the biggest protests was the one held
in Warsaw, Poland, where more than 70.000 people openly marched against
immigration yelling "Polland for the Polish" etc. But it's not just
Europe; if you listen to the speeches of Donald Trump, whose political
influence and popularity can, in my own opinion, only be explained through some bizarre case of
mass hypnosis, you can clearly see as to where does the big part of
"white Christian community" stand on the question of Islam.

In such climate, the Syrians that fled their war-stricken country were and are feeling unwelcome and rejected in the part of the world they sought
out to be their second home. As if their previous troubles weren’t enough for
them.

How did this sad but true fact about the rising Islamophobia
reflect upon the refugees passing through Greece, FYR Macedonia, Serbia,
Croatia, Slovenia and Austria on their way to Europe? Find out in our next post
on Monday.

What are the macro-scale reasons that stand behind unfavorable treatment toward refugees in most of the EU and along the “Balkan Route”? What were the deciding factors
that put the large number of Syrian immigrants in a position to feel unwanted
and rejected by the parts of Europe they wanted to find their second home at, and what ultimately led to the closing of the "Balkan Route" a couple of days ago?

Many won’t say it,
or attribute any importance to it, again, probably because of some fake sense
of political correctness, but the first thing that an average person started
asking when refugees started pouring in was: Why are they coming to Europe and
not the countries surrounding Syria? And this would be a good question, if
there was any logical reasoning that
could be attributed to it whatsoever. But the
real truth is - they actually did go to the surrounding countries.

According to the Mercy Corps website, there are more than 4.7
million refugees at this moment, and more than 6 million internally displaced
Syrians. As the official statistics of the UNHCR
say, the vast majority of the 4.7 million are located in Turkey
(2.715.789 registered as of March 3rd), Lebanon (1.067.560 registered as of
January 2016.) and Jordan (639.204 registered). Also, Iraq
and Egypt are home for around 350.000 refugees aggregate.The
frightening thing is that more than 54% of these refugees are children and
minors under 17 years of age, and 80% of that group is under 11 years old.

In contrast to
that, there are 897.645 asylum applications in the entire Europe up until mid March. That is less than 20% of the number in the countries surrounding Syria, so that completely defeats the theory of refugees flooding
Europe.

The important question, one that almost nobody asks or talks about
publicly is: Why is it even important if these people go to Jordan, Egypt,
Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey or they go to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Germany,
Poland, Austria, France etc. So, why is it important where do they go, when
they are just people in need, running from war? The issue in place is simple:
race and religion. The climate of peace and understanding between the Christian
and the Islamic communities of Europe (which are both, unfortunately, vastly
larger than the Atheist community) is something that only exists in theory and
on a small-scale. Islamophobia is very wide-spread due to generalization, and
generalization is a stupid, stupid thing, but that’s not the subject now. And
don't get me wrong - I do not disrespect neither Christians nor Muslims when I
say that "there are unfortunately way less Atheists", but I don't
remember the last time Atheists went killing each other and starting wars over
whose Atheism is better.

It is a known fact that is also rarely spoken of, that Europe has a
very strong right-wing nationalistic movements in almost every country. These
movements are gaining momentum and support during the last 15 years, and the
world-wide spreading of Islamophobia after the 9/11 attacks. To quote Open
Society Foundation’s website report on Islamophobia: "In recent years,
Islamophobia has been fueled by public anxiety over immigration and the
integration of Muslim minorities into majority cultures in Europe. These
tensions have been exacerbated by the aftermath of the economic crash of 2007
and the rise of populist nationalist politicians. They have also been
aggravated by high-profile terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim
extremists." Further more, attacks by violent jihadists in London and
Madrid, the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, and the massacre at the
Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have increased fear and anxiety. The problem
with these is, as I said previously, generalization - a presumption that every and any Muslim is a
terrorist just because some Muslims are terrorists. That would be the same as, for example, presuming that every German is a Nazi, just because some Germans were Nazis.

Since we all know that fear and inability to understand things are
the strongest fuel for hatred and conflict (did anyone say Spanish
Inquisition?) it is easy to see how in a society we like to think of as
civilized, this kind of discrimination was able to flourish, almost under the
radar. After the most recent terrorist attacks that took place in Paris, the
climate toward Syrian migrants changed even more drastically, and spawned almost
an open rebellion across the entire Europe. Among the biggest protests was the one held
in Warsaw, Poland, where more than 70.000 people openly marched against
immigration yelling "Polland for the Polish" etc. But it's not just
Europe; if you listen to the speeches of Donald Trump, whose political
influence and popularity can, in my own opinion, only be explained through some bizarre case of
mass hypnosis, you can clearly see as to where does the big part of
"white Christian community" stand on the question of Islam.

In such climate, the Syrians that fled their war-stricken country were and are feeling unwelcome and rejected in the part of the world they sought
out to be their second home. As if their previous troubles weren’t enough for
them.

How did this sad but true fact about the rising Islamophobia
reflect upon the refugees passing through Greece, FYR Macedonia, Serbia,
Croatia, Slovenia and Austria on their way to Europe? Find out in our next post
on Monday.